Just what you were hoping for...

[mrshawt]

Another feeding problem.

I've been feeding the snake f/t mice for over a year now. I thaw it, place her in a separate box, then dangle it in there. No problems until now. She's refused to eat twice now, and I hate wasting rodents. There have been a couple changes so this may be stress related, which is why I'm trying to fix them. First off, I always had one half log hide on the warm side. After reading a bunch of posts here, I upgraded to two identical cave hides, which she loves. I also just moved back to a somewhat colder climate from school, so the ambient temp has been a little bit lower (in the 70s). I've adjusted the two UTHs accordingly, so the warm and cool sides are spot on. The last thing I've done is move from large mice to rats. These are a lot bigger, and she seems scared of them.

So here comes what I've done. I got new hides as I mentioned. I'm using mice now again, and just feeding two. I'm trying to get the amb temp up, and it is getting warmer climate wise.

This is where you all come in. I decided next time I'm going to pre-scent the room, even though a f/t mouse smells horrid. I also might start feeding her in her tank. I use ReptiBark, so will this pose as a risk of impaction? I've heard some people place something flat in the tank to put the mouse on. Could I say, remove the hide she is not in to place the mouse?

I'll attach a picture of my setup.


I guess I'm also worried that if I feed in her tank, she'll be more likely to bite me when I take her out. Is this possible? Is there anything else I can do to improve the feeding process?

I am just a mess of questions...but it's good to get everything worked out.

[eMonk]

have you tried leaving a f/t mice infront of her hide on the warm side with the room lights off & leaving the room for ~1 hour?

[mrshawt]

Would I need to put something down under the mouse so she doesn't eat a piece of the substrate?

[eMonk]

you will be fine unless you're using cedar. their stomach acids break down teeth and bones in rats.

[Kaorte]

You can put a piece of paper towel down and then put the F/T on top. Just feed her in her home enclosure. Turn off the lights and come back in an hour or so. Are you offering food on a 5-7 day schedule? Is so, just stick to that, even if there is a food refusal. The snake is more likely to eat after 7 days then after 2 or 3 days if you keep offering food.

[McAdry]

the paper towel idea is fine you can just feed her on the substrate you use it should not be an issue those of our snakes that are on substate not paper of some kind do just fine. We have never had a snake become more agressive from feeding it in it's house and we have feed all our snakes in their homes.

[mrshawt]

Thanks everybody! I might remove the water bowl when i do it to clean it and to give her some more room to eat. I'll try it either tonight or in the next couple days to get her back on schedule.

Two more questions: should I leave the mouse on the substrate or dangle it with tongs? And if I feed her two mice, one after another?

[2kdime]

Didn't see how much she weighed?

I've seen a few people post about they're animals hitting a 1000-1200 gram mark and kind of going off feed for a while.

[mrshawt]

Didn't see how much she weighed?

I've seen a few people post about they're animals hitting a 1000-1200 gram mark and kind of going off feed for a while.

I'm not too sure actually - I want to get her weighed soon. But it's safe to say it's somewhere around 1000g.